Visitor Information
Page Navigation
-
*Please refer to your child's teacher's schedule for procedures, daily schedule, etc. If you need immediate assistance during the school day, please feel free to contact Mt. Carmel at 770.897.9799. We are here to serve our Mt. Carmel students and families.
Morning Procedures
Arrival
Building Opens for Students at 7:10 for student drop-off (Elementary Student & Parent Handbook, 2023-2024)
- Students will be allowed entry into the building at 7:10 am. Prior to 7:10, there are no staff members available to supervise students in the gym or cafeteria, so please do not leave your child until the front main entrance doors are opened.
- All students will enter through the main entrance doors only, side entrances are reserved for teachers or students with accessibility needs. We need all car-riding students to enter through a central location for safety and monitoring purposes throughout the year.
- Parents dropping their children off should do so when they are aligned with any portion of the front sidewalk. To make this process faster and smoother, students should be released once the line has stopped, and they are beside the sidewalk, not just once you’ve reached the front awning. Personnel will be there to supervise your children, so please allow your child out of the car once you’ve reached the sidewalk, weather permitting.
- Parents who wish to park to enter the building with their children must use the center parking lane, park their car, and escort their child into the building. For the safety of our students, the bus lane is reserved for bus drop-off only. The bus lane will be closed to access once the last bus has left in the morning.
If you arrive between 7:10 and 7:30:
- Students needing breakfast will report to the cafeteria upon arrival.
- Students who do not wish to have breakfast will need to report to their classrooms upon arrival.
- Students will be allowed to proceed to class at 7:10 am.
- If you arrive after 7:25:
- If you wish to eat breakfast, report directly to the cafeteria.
- If you do not require breakfast, report directly to class.
Breakfast Procedures:
- If you plan for your child to eat breakfast at school, please have them arrive no later than 7:30 so they will have enough time to eat and report to class by 7:35. The breakfast line closes at 7:30 am.
- Should a bus arrive late, those students will be allowed to have breakfast at the time they are dropped off, even if it’s after class has started.
If you arrive after 7:35 :
- You must park and escort your child into the building to check them in (HCS Student & Parent Handbook, 2023-24). Students arriving after 7:35 am are considered tardy.
When escorting your child into the building:
- We allow parents to walk children to the classrooms during the first week of school to help ensure students know their classroom locations. After the first week, students can independently navigate the building. As such, we request parents to say goodbye at the front doors.
Afternoon Car Rider Line
Please understand that student check-out is permitted up and until 2 pm, with the window for student check-out closing at that time. According to the Elementary Student & Parent Handbook, 2023-24:
“Parents should not check out students for the purpose of avoiding car-rider traffic.”
Arrival
The car rider lane should remain open between 7:45 and 2:00 pm. Parents arriving prior to 2:00 pm will need to park in available spaces at the front of the parking lot before the car lane opens up:
At 2:00 pm, parents may line up in the parking lanes, side by side, until dismissal occurs at 2:25. There are six pick-up areas, so cars will be filled twelve (12) cars at a time. Please note: We request that parents remain in their cars to ensure the safety of children. Children will be dismissed to parents in their vehicles by a staff member manning the dismissal process.
All car rider students will have numbers on car tags (10s-90s for kindergarten, 100s for First Graders, 200s for Second Graders, 300s for Third Graders, 400s for Fourth Graders, and 500s for Fifth Graders) and will be seated inside the building awaiting dismissal from the front lobby. The principal or principal’s designee will walk down the rows of cars and call students to come out to enter the cars. MCE staff will assist students to their cars. Once all twelve cars have been loaded, staff members will signal the stop sign holder at the front of the line, who will then signal cars to leave. Please do not attempt to leave prior to the signal being given.
Change of Transportation
One of the biggest sources of frustration for parents is change-of-transportation requests. In order for students to take another means of transportation home that is not their typical means, it should be noted that it is required for the parent or guardian to provide a written note, including the new temporary transportation mode and transportation person that is on the yellow student information card, along with the parent’s signature. This note has to be approved by the principal or principal’s designee for the change to occur (HCS Student & Parent Handbook, 2023-2024).
From time to time, unanticipated events occur that require a change to be made. To avoid any issues, please take the following measures:
- Be sure any potential alternate transportation providers are included in the parent portal. Regardless of the situation, persons not listed on the yellow card cannot take students from school grounds under any circumstances.
- Find a way to e-mail a picture of your I.D., along with information about the transportation mode and the person transporting the student to the attendance secretary tomika.harris@henry.k12.ga.us and principal allison.VantoneFoles@henry.k12.ga.us Send this e-mail to and to your child’s teacher, as well.
- If e-mail is not available, ultimately, call the front office and discuss the change with the principal or the principal’s designee.